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A. W. RICHARDS. WORK BENGH. APPLIc-ATION FILED MM5. 190s.'

981, 1 1 3, Patented Jan. 1o, 1911.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. i

ARTHUR W. RICHARDS, 0F YONKERS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO ALBENART COMPANY, OF CANTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

WORK-BENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led May 5, 1909.

Patented J an. 10, 1911. serial No. 494,191.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR W. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Yonkers, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Work-Benches, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is particularly applicable to work benches of that type in which provision is made for adjusting the bench top to any desired height and includes features relating to the attachment and detachment of the top of the bench and also features relating to a vertically-adjustable support for the same, being intended to improve upon prior constructions of this sort in certain respects which will hereinafter appear.

A work bench embodying my improvements as preferably constructed is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a plan view of the bench with a portion thereof broken away; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the bench shown in Fig. l, certain parts thereof being shown in vertical section; Fig. Sis an end elevation of the bench; and Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are detail views illustrating my arrangement for detachably securing the top of the bench to its support.

The top portion of the work bench illustrated in the drawings comprises two main parts, namely, a supporting frame and a fiat bench top 2 which rests horizontally upon and is detachably secured to the frame. Said frame preferably consists of two parallel beams 3 connected near their ends by a pair of parallel cross-beams 4, forming a rectangular box-like structure, while the top 2 is composed of a series of strips 5 arranged side by side and suitably connected together, said strips being rectangular in cross-section and of the same length and height, so that their collective upper edges form the upper surface of the top 2.

6 represents a tool rack which rests upon and is permanently secured to the rectangular supporting frame and extends along the rear portion thereof, immediately back of the top 2.

In order to provide for connecting the top 2 to its supporting frame and for detaching it therefrom, the under side of said top 2 is provided with two grooves 7 which extend across the greater portion of the top in such position that when the top is in'place upon its supporting frame said grooves are located directly above the corresponding cross -beams 4. Each of these grooves 7 opens upon the bottom face of the top 2 and has its upwardly-extending side walls undercut, as shown in cross-section in Fig. 6,l and in each groove is located a bar 8 having substantially the same shape and dimensions as the groove, except that the latter is somewhat longer and slightly deeper than the bar, so that the bar is capable of a limited longitudinal movement within the groove but cannot fall or project through the open bottom of the same. At one or more points in its length each bar 8 is provided with a vertical slot 9 at one end of which is located a horizontal wedge 10 having a vertical notch 11, Figs. 4 and 5. The wedges 10 on each bar 8 are located at corresponding ends of their respective slots, and an equal number of headed studs 12 are inserted into the top edge of the corresponding cross beam 4 at such points that when the bars 8 are located at one limit of their endwise movement and the top 2 is placed in its intended position upon its supporting frame, the heads of the studs 12 will simultaneously enter the slots 9 and occupy a position in front of and slightly above the thin edges of the respective wedges, with the shanks of the studs opposite the notches 11 therein.

The bars 8 are then moved endwise, with.

the result that said wedges are forced under the heads of the corresponding studs 12 and draw the top 2 tightly down upon the cross beams 4, said top being thereby firmly secured to the frame which carries it. Whenever it is desired to remove the top 2 the bars 8 are moved in the opposite direction, thereby withdrawing the wedges 10 from under the heads of the studs 12 and leaving said top free to be lifted bodily from the supporting frame. i

The grooves 7 preferably extend through the rear edge of the top 2, to permit the insertion of the bars 8, but terminate behind the front strip 5, so that said grooves and bars are completely concealed when the top is in place on its support, and in order that the bars 8 may be moved endwise as above described, rearwardly-extending holes 13 are formed in the front strip 5, one directly opposite the front end of each bar 8, through which holes a small rod may be temporarily passed into contact with the end of the cory responding bar, whereupona blow from a hammer upon the outer end of the rod will impart a rearward endwise movement to the bar. Similar holes 14, slanting downward and forward through the front edge of the tool rack 6, provide for imparting forward endwise movements to the bars 8 in like manner. The front strip is preferably grooved on its under side to receive an upwardly-proj ecting rib 15 formed on the front beam 8, and the rear edge portion of the top 2 is rabbeted as at 16 to receive the front edge of the tool rack 6, as shown in Fig. 3,

so as to linsure accuracy in positioning the top 2 on its support.

The construction above described not lOnly enables the top 2 to be detached and applied very quickly and easily but' is also advantageous in this respect, that the parallel top and bottom surfaces of said top 2 are leftv fiat and have no projections or exposed metallic attachments, so that when it is desired to dress the upper or working surface of said top it is merely necessary to remove the latter and run it through a planer.

The top 2 and its supporting frame are carried by a suitable number of upright supports, and one portion of my invention relates to a construction of such supports whereby the vertical adjustment of the top 2 is provided for. In the drawings, two such supports are shown, but inasmuch as these supports are identical in construction and mode of operation it will be necessary to describe but one of them in detail. In the construction illustrated, each supportI comprises a hollow pedestal 17 adapted to be bolted to a suitable base, such as the tioor of a room, and having a cylindrical upper portion in which a tubular extension 18 is adapted to slide vertically and by which it is .guided during` its vertical movements. The upper end of each extension 18 carries and is covered by a cap piece 19 formed to provide a horizontal seat for the corresponding cross beam 4t and a flange 2O extending upward at one side of said cross beam and bolted thereto. Beneath said horizontal seat is located, a screw-threaded rod 21, which extends downward through an opening in the cap piece 19 and into the hollow interior of the tubular extension 18, where it is provided with a nut 22 fixed to the upper end of a hollow column 28 which rests at its lower end upon and is rigidly secured to a suitable fixed support such as a plate 2li located within the hollow base of the pedestal 17 and having a central,upwardly-extending projection 25 fitting into the lower end of the column 23 and centering the same in axial alinement with the threaded rod 21 and its nut 22. Said nut 22 and column 23 yare preferably of slightly less diameter than the interior `of the tubular extension 18, and

the plate 24 is held down and prevented from turning by the pedestal 17 but is otherwise independent of the latter, for the reason hereinafter explained. The upper end of the threaded rod 21 is located in and centered by a recess formed in the cap piece 19 and serving as an end thrust bearing, so that the weight of the cap piece and the parts carried thereby is carried by said threaded rod and said parts may be raised or lowered by rotating the rod within its fixed nut 22, and for rotating said rod I provide alongitudinally-extending shaft 26 journaled in the upper portion of the structure and carrying a gear 27 meshing with a gear 28 secured to said rod 21 lwithin a recess 29 formed in the cap piece, the shaft 26 being provided at one end with a handle 30 by which it may be rotated. A gear 27 for each adjustable support employed is secured to the same shaft 26, so that the rotation of said shaft results in the vertical adjustment ofthe entire bench top to an equal extent at all points of support, the parts of the adjusting mechanism being naturally so proportioned that the friction ofA said parts amply overcomes any tendency the bench might have to fall by gravity by itself or under any downward pressure which is likely to be exerted upon it. The operating handle 30 is preferably arranged to grip the shaft by means o-f a slot 31 engaging a pin 32 on the shaft, the slot being open at one end so that the handle may be slid along the shaft out of engagement with said pin when not in use, as shown in dotted lines 1n Fig. 2.

The adjustable support above described has the advantage that the telescoping extension 18, though playing no part in supporting the weight of the bench top, is rigidly guided and laterally supported by the long external bearing provided by the upper portion of the pedestal 17, while the threaded rod 21 is entirely freed from all guiding functions, so that any lateral strains such as might result from a sidewise thrust upon the bench top, or from a heavy load restin T upon one edge thereof, are not transferred to nor resisted at the point of engagement of the rod 21 and its nut, nor imposed upon any other weight supporting parts, but on the contrary are transferred by the tubular guiding members to the very bottom of the pedestal, where the greatest degree of rigidity for resisting the same is obtained. The result is that the structure as a whole is not only extremely rigid but is also capable of being adjusted with but little expenditure of power, since the threaded rod 21 can have no tendency to bind in its nut but is always free to be rotated. The threaded rod and nut are also completely inclosed and protected fromdust and dirt, and the floor beneath the bench is more easily swept; and kept clean when my supports are employed than when the bench top is supported upon the usual legs located at its corners.,

It will be understood that the adjustable support above described is useful not only for supporting the particular bench top illustrated but also for carrying various other articles or structures which it is desired to adjust vertically, and it will also be apparent that the details of construction herein described may be modified in various ways without departing from my invention.

I claim as my invention l. An adjustable standard for work benches and the like, comprising a pedestal and a telescopic extension projecting above the upper end of the pedestal and guided thereby in its up-and-down movements, said extension being provided at its upper end with a supporting cap piece, a verticallyw extending, screw-threaded rod arranged to carry the weight of the cap piece and extending downward therefrom within the pedestal and its telescopic extension, a fixed nut supported from the base of the pedestal and engaging said rod, and means for rotating 'the latter.

2. An adjustable standard for work benches and the like, comprising a hollow pedestal, a telescopic extension adapted to slide vertically in the upper portion of the same and guided thereby, a supporting cap piece carried by the upper end of the telescopic extension, a screw-threaded rod eX- tending vertically within said extension and carrying the weight of the cap piece, a nut mounted on said rod, means extending upward from the base of the pedestal, within the latter, for supporting said nut and holding it .in iXed position, and means carried by said cap piece for rotating said threaded rod.

3. An adjustable standard for work benches and the like, comprising a hollow pedestal, a telescopic extension mounted to slide vertically therein and guided thereby, a cap piece carried by the upper end of the extension and having a transversely-extending recess therein and an end-thrust bearing above said recess, a screw-threaded rod extending vertically within said eXtension and having its upper end located in said bearing and provided beneath the same with means for rotating the rod, a nut fitted to said rod, and means for supporting said nut from the base of the pedestal and holding the same in fixed position.

4. An adjustable standard for work benches and the like, comprising a hollow pedestal, a tubular extension mounted t-o slide vertically therein and guided eXteri nally thereby, a supporting cap piece carried by the upper end of the tubular eX- tension, ahollow column located within the pedestal and extendingupward from the base of the same, a screw-threaded rod eX- tending vertically within said tubular eX- tension and hollow column and carrying the weight of the cap piece, a nut secured to the upper portion of said column and engaging said rod, kand means for rotating the latter.

5. In a work bench, the combination with a bench top of a pair of standards each com prising a hollow pedestal, a tubular eXtension mounted to slide vertically therein, a cap piece carried by the upper end of the tubular extension and forming a support for the bench top, a screw-threaded rod ar ranged to carry the weight of the cap piece and its load and extending vertically downward within the tubular extension, a nut fitted to said rod and supported from the base of the pedestal, within the latter and out of lateral contact .with the surrounding parts, and means for simultaneously rotating the threaded rods consisting of a horizontal shaft, gears carried thereby and meshing respectively with gears on the rods, and an operating handle carried by said shaft.

6. In a work bench, the combination with a supporting frame of a bench top resting thereon and provided with recesses opening out upon the under side of said top, locking bars located wholly in said recesses and adapted to slide longitudinally therein, and studs fixed to and extending upward from the supporting frame and adapted to enter said recesses and .to be engaged by said locking bars to detachably secure the bench to to said supporting frame.

g. In a work bench, the combination with a supporting frame, of a bench top resting thereon and provided on its under side with grooves having undercut sidewalls and eX- tending through one edge of said bench top, each groove containing a bar having beveled sides and adapted to slide longitudinally the-rein and each bar being provided with vertical slot-s and with a horizontal wedge at one end of each slot, and headed studs extending upward from the supporting frame in position to simultaneously enter the slots in said bars and to be engaged by the corresponding wedges when the bars are moved endwise, whereby said top and frame are detachably secured together.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 3rd day of May, 1909.

ARTHUR W. RICHARDS.

Witnesses Louis KRAUS, EUGENE I-IAINERT. 

